The Cost of Convenience: Weather Apps, Algorithms & our Biases
Daniel Murray
Transforming Business Culture with Empathy | Keynote Speaker, Empathy Expert & CEO at Empathic Consulting
Welcome to edition 73, great to have you reading my newsletter, I really appreciate you!
In this edition, I share some thoughts on the winding back of censorship and the issues with the ideals of freedom of information.
If you've heard me present, I'd also LOVE if you could spare 2 minutes to help me with some of your thoughts.
Fishing for Truth in a Sea of Misinformation
How do you make decisions in situations where there is conflicting information? Whether on the water or in a meeting room, this one bias can trip us all up.
When I looked out the window, the tops of the palm trees danced lightly on the breeze. It was slightly overcast but there was no rain forecast. I glanced down at our boat sitting on the trailer, like a siren it whispered to me: “We should go out and catch some fish…”
I love a day on the water, but in Moreton Bay when the wind picks up the weather can turn nasty real fast. I opened one of the apps I use to predict the wind. The light green arrows were changing to dark orange over the next few hours. Damn it.
So, I opened another app. This seemed a little better. Still not perfect conditions, but workable. I opened a third, it didn't look good either, a bit more like the first.
My wife asked, “So are you going to take the boat out?”
“Yeah,” I replied, “the app says it should be okay. Won't be too long.”
While not particularly dangerous, it wasn't a pleasant afternoon on the water. I was being jolted by the waves, pushed around by the wind and didn't even get close to catching dinner. Complete fail. This windy day on Moreton Bay highlights my own bias, but one I share with many. It impacts every leader and organisation I’ve ever worked with. As a keynote speaker, I help leaders recognise these biases, develop skills to navigate these challenges and create clarity amidst the chaos. But my job is getting harder every day.
I thought about that day on the water recently when listening to Joe Rogan interview Mark Zuckerberg. Rogan made a compelling case that freedom of speech was critical and that moderation or censorship was a bad thing. The concept, which is used by many pundits often, is that if more information is shared, people will be able to access lots of perspectives and make their own conclusions. Zuckerberg seemed to largely agree, with Meta now announcing the phasing out of partnerships with third-party fact-checking organisations and an easing of content moderation policies. The Meta boss saying: “we're going to get back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies, and restoring free expression on our platforms."
This is a brilliant and logical theory, simply let people speak their mind, surely the popular answers will rise to the top and truth will be revealed. But in practice it ignores a few of our greatest human flaws. We are prone to confirmation bias, swayed by social influences and . While it would be great if we naturally explored all possibilities with and open and consciously curious mind, it is not our default.
With the weather, I had a point of view I wanted to be true. I then searched for anything that would validate my view and justify the decision I wanted to make. For most of us, we do the same thing with any topic we are passionate about. If you want to buy a Mercedes Benz, you'll search for reviews that show them in a good light and ignore others that recommend better alternatives.
In 1985, researchers Vallone, Ross and Lepper showed two groups of people media reports from the USA portraying the conflict between Israel and Palestine during the 1982 Lebanon War. One group was made up of people who held strong pro-Palestinian views. The other, people with strong pro-Israeli views.
What they found was that despite the information being the same, their conclusions were vastly different. Pro-Palestinian participants, watching the exact same footage, perceived the media as being biased in favour of Israel, overly sympathetic, and downplaying the plight of Palestinians.
Pro-Israeli participants perceived the media as being biased against Israel, portraying it unfairly and overly critical of its actions. In leadership, as in life, we often see what we want to see. Confirmation bias, noise from competing perspectives, and the rise of AI-driven misinformation make it harder to lead with clarity. I don’t profess to have all the answers, instead I help leaders and teams develop empathy and critical thinking to overcome these challenges.
On censorship and moderation of content, I was pleased to hear Zuckerberg speak openly about the need to take action on some content. I empathise with the incredible challenge of where to draw the line and how to manage this at scale. However, the drowning out of some voices by the barrage of counter views doesn’t help us create a better environment for open information. As of 2023, almost 50% of all internet traffic was driven by bots. While many people can share their view on a topic, a single bad actor with an army of powerful computers could create a tsunami of their own views.
I agree with Rogan that censorship is a dangerous method to ensure people are not misled. It opens the door to corruption, bad actors and the erosion of trust when a small number of individuals are silencing voices to suit their own nefarious agenda. But I think they are both missing the real need we have moving forward. The genie is out of the bottle, misinformation circulates like wildfire and the rise of AI and bots will only accelerate this at an unprecedented rate.
While moderation will be important, education will be critical. We must prioritise systems that teach exploration, encourage questions and inspire curiosity. This is where empathy and human connection could offer us greater discussions and healthier environments. Could you foresee a world where we read online information with greater scepticism and instead seek out people we trust to have more meaningful interactions? Maybe that is what Rogan is for many of his millions of listeners, maybe for others he is a source of dangerous misinformation. Either way, at least we can be confident he is a real human being who shares his views widely on many topics and is open to the criticism he receives.
领英推荐
In an era where social media is being weaponised, maybe the answer is not to be found in governments and corporations deciding what we should and shouldn’t be exposed to. I suspect the better path forward will involve us all having more responsibility, consideration and empathy for our own views and the views of others. For all of us to be more consciously curious and self-aware enough to know when we are seeking to understand versus justifying what we want to be true with the noise created by others.
Empathy, curiosity, and critical thinking are the antidotes to misinformation and bias. They’re not just tools for leaders—they’re essential skills for thriving in an uncertain world. That’s the message I deliver to audiences around the world. If you're planning a conference or event and need a speaker who can help your audience navigate uncertainty with empathy, curiosity and kindness, let's talk. I have a keynote that takes the group on a journey, gives them the tools and inspires actionable change in even the most steadfast minds.
Have you seen me present? I'd love your thoughts
As a professional speaker, what an audience thinks about my performance is all that really matters. I've been using the platform Bark.com for a little while now to find more speaking opportunities and sadly it doesn't accept my LinkedIn recommendations as reviews.
I'd deeply appreciate if you've seen me present, that you quickly drop me a review on Bark and help others to find out if I'd be right for their event. Pretty please :)
For each review I get, I'll also donate $50 to Hands Across the Water to support the kids in Thailand.
??Michael Bungay Stanier Interview
New Masterclass Dates Announced
Since these are getting a little more traction, I've scheduled a few more dates for our public masterclasses. Lock in your seats today!
As always, if you've read this far, please drop me a comment, like or share.
Regards
Daniel